ANOTHER VIEW ON RUSSIAN BAN ON U.S. ADOPTIONS

After reading a number of articles related to the Russian ban on U.S. adoption, I could not get rid of the feeling that this was biased, unfair, politicized media coverage instead of thoughtful analysis. I would like to offer an alternative view on the ban – the view from the Russian side – and let you decide what should be done to bring love to those who need it instead of making waves in the field of a political fight.

As with any event that we humans create, there was a real reason for the adoption ban and an occasion that triggered it. The trigger was an accusation of human rights violations from the U.S. that was followed by a symmetrical response from Russia. The Russian response came as a bill that, among other sanctions, included the adoption ban. This is the political side of the story.

As for the underlying reason for the adoption ban, it is far from being political. This side of the story is usually either vaguely covered by the media or reduced to the above-mentioned trigger. As one article put it, “Various factors are to blame for the proposed ban, including exaggerated misconceptions or rumors about what happens to children once they’re adopted to the U.S. and high-profile deaths of a few adoptees.”

What an amazing minimalism in describing the main point of the Russian side!

Why not say, for example, that the “deaths of a few adoptees” were in fact 19 documented killings of Russian adoptees by their new parents, some of which were indeed high-profile cases because of their horrific nature? Why not say that it has become almost a norm to give lenient sentences to the killers and abusers of Russian adoptees because “hereditary mental instability” became a prevailing “diagnosis” in regard to Russian children? (So much for the help to poor handicapped children who can’t get help in Russia.) Why not say that the Russian authorities cannot follow up on the lives of adoptees and that those 19 might just be a “tip of the iceberg”? Why not say that the hatred to Russia that has been cultivated in American society for decades may itself reflect on the treatment of Russian adoptees? Why not say that in general children’s safety in the U.S. is far from being great: According to National Children’s Alliance estimates, five children die in the U.S, every day as a result of abuse or neglect.

All that raised great concern in Russia regarding adoption by Americans and, importantly, regarding the absence of objective statistics about the lives of Russian children with their new families. As a result, the adoption of Russian orphans by Americans was suspended in 2010, long before the “Magnitsky Act,” which proves the nonpolitical nature of the move. A little over a year ago, a new bilateral adoption agreement was signed which permitted a continued monitoring of the adopting family by the Russian authorities. And yet any attempts of the Russian officials to get information about Russian adoptees have been blocked by the states’ authorities.

These were the real reasons for the adoption ban and there was nothing political about them. No informed, unbiased thinking person would expect the adoption process to continue under such circumstances. If one concentrates on the trigger instead of the underlying reason for the adoption ban, that just illustrates either ignorance or a prevailing desire to express hatred toward Russia. Those who would sincerely like to reinstate the adoption program with Russia should urge the U.S. government to honor the agreements that it signed and express disapproval with the unjust court decisions related to the deaths of Russian adoptees, instead of sending ridiculous petitions to include Putin and the whole Russian legislature in the “Magnitsky” list.

As for the Russian orphans, children advocates shouldn’t worry a lot. The ban only applies to Americans. So, those orphans who might otherwise be going to the U.S. will now go to Europe. Not too bad, either.